A tax referendum put on the ballot by the Hillsborough County School Board is projected to pass, with 95% of the precincts reporting.
The millage will increase property tax to ensure competitive salaries and retain and recruit high-quality teachers and staff. The tax will remain in effect for four years, from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2029.
The school district says it will generate an estimated $177 million yearly.
Property owners will pay $1 for every $1,000 in taxable value. The cost for a typical homeowner in Hillsborough County will be $281 a year, according to the school district.
Teachers will receive a salary supplement of $6,000 more a year. Support staff, including bus drivers and student nutrition workers, will receive $3,000 more a year.
Administrators, including principals and assistant principals, will receive $6,000 more a year.
This was the language that voters saw on their ballots:
To provide educational excellence for student learning by ensuring competitive salaries to retain and recruit high quality teachers and staff, implementing and preserving academic programs, and distributing proportional funds pursuant to Florida law with charter schools, shall the School District of Hillsborough County levy an ad valorem operating millage of one mill annually from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2029, with annual reporting to county residents for transparency of the use of funds.
Voters in 25 of Florida's 67 counties have approved a millage referendum to provide additional funding to pay their teachers and support staff, according to the district's website. Those counties include Manatee, Sarasota, Pasco and Hernando counties.
The last time the referendum reached voters was in 2022, but it was narrowly defeated.
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